This Sunday, I will be preaching from a very familiar scripture, Isaiah 40:27-31. You'll recognize it as, "They who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They shall soar with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." I know that this is a favorite passage for many of you and one you have heard preachers use before. With that said, is there anything new to be learned from it? In a sense I hope so, because I want the scripture to be seen and read with fresh eyes and ears. But in a sense, this is what I call a "comfort food scripture." It is one that is like a back door friend, one that we never get tired of seeing and hearing from. What are some of your comfort food scriptures? What speaks to you, perhaps because you know it so well? Write about it in the comment section below.

I don't want to give too much of my sermon away (I am prone to do that), but I do want you to know that I think this scripture resonates with us because life is hard, and we are simply tired. We run and run and run and it seems as if we can never finish what is before us, much less what we ought to do that is waiting in the wings. We get beaten down by bad news and broken hearts, chaos, and cancer, and we just run on empty.

If that is where you are, then I want you to know there is hope. The prophet tells us that God will renew our strength if we wait on him. But therein lies the problem...how many of us like waiting or feel like waiting is something we should do? I am convinced that waiting runs completely counter to what we think we ought to do when the world starts to cave in around us, but yet, that is what God wants from us.

You should know that waiting in this sense is not passive like waiting at the doctor's office or the beauty parlor, waiting is with great expectation of what God will do and accomplish. Waiting is active...it is seeking faith and hope and trusting God when we have no place else to turn.

I don't know where you stand this day...I don't know if you are soaring, or running or just trying to take one more stop...but I tell you...slow down. and wait...for only when you wait upon the Lord will your strength be renewed.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to worshiping with you Sunday. (Scroll down and see the return of The Sports Corner before you sign off).

In His Love and Grace,

Josh

Sports CornerAnd you thought it was gone forever...honestly, you are not that lucky. I am reporting on two events...one was national signing day (Feb 1st). For those of you who do not know, this is the day that HS recruits can officially sign their letter of intent/scholarship with a college football program.

UGA did well on national signing day bringing in 19 total recruits. Analysts say that they had the #9 ranked class in the nation. Some of the headliners were Josh Harvey-Clemon and Jordan Jenkins (2 outstanding linebackers), and John Theus (a great OT/OL prospect). I think these will certainly pay dividends to UGA sooner rather than later.

Tech, well, they signed recruits as well. They did okay on signing day, but they simply did not have the overall depth of the UGA haul. They ranked about #59th or so, though they have an intriguing QB prospect who was committed to Alabama, but later flipped to Tech.

I guess the only thing to really say about signing day is that while it is important to bring in talent, it is what coaches do with that talent all year long that will determine on-field success. Here's to hoping that both schools do well, (but that UGA does better than Tech). The other event, if you have not heard, is the Super Bowl on Sunday night: the New England Patriots vs. NY Giants. This will be a great game. Vegas has the Patriots as the favorites and gives the Giants three points. I must admit I am torn on this pick...the Patriots have been a machine all year, but the Giants are the hot team right now. Could Brady win this Superbowl and cement his place permanently in NFL history? Does Eli have enough to pull out an improbable victory over the Patriots as he did before?

While many are picking the underdog, I am picking the Patriots to win by 7. They simply have too much on offense, and after giving a coach like Belicheck two weeks to prepare, I just cannot see them losing.

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Rev. Steve Ayers, Jr. began serving as pastor for The Oaks Baptist Church on June 27, 2016. He and his wife Rebekah along with their two twin boys Luke and Silas have become an important part of the church. Their warm and loving spirits as well as the boys have captured the hearts of many at the church.